A review by yasidiaz
Just as You Are by Camille Kellogg

funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Just As You Are is a Sapphic retelling of the beloved Pride & Prejudice. Liz Baker is a writer for a queer magazine in New York. When Nether Fields is bought at the last minute after almost shutting down, Liz finds it hard to feel grateful when Daria Fitzgerald -the minor investor- is a big pain in her ass. Things, of course, when Liz and Daria spend more time together and the former wonders if maybe, just maybe, she was too quick to judge.

Let me let you in on a little secret. Pride & Prejudice is one of my favorite romance stories of all time. I read it for the first time during my teenage years and have been a big supporter of Jane Austen since then. I remember even fighting my favorite English teacher after I found out he didn’t like Pride & Prejudice. So when I hear about a retelling of my favorite book and it is queer? Of course, I have to read it. And this book seriously didn’t disappoint.

This book was so queer in the best ways possible. It made me miss my friends and all the stuff we would do together. Each character felt like someone I met at some point at my school’s Queer Student Association and any other queer spaces. Seeing so many queer characters just living their lives felt refreshing, I will never get tired of it. There will never be enough books that celebrate our lives for me. Please give me more.

I enjoyed seeing how they reimagined some of my favorite scenes and moments from the original. I knew what was coming but at the same time, I didn’t. However, since I knew where the story was going I was crushing on Daria way too fact. I spent most of the time yelling at Liz and had to remind myself I would react almost the same if I didn’t have the context. Especially when this book made me realize just how much I related to Lizzie Bennet and now Liz Baker. 

Her struggles with her gender expression also made me feel so seen and it made it easier to relate to Liz. This wasn’t hard anyway, since I already related to Liz's impulsivity, her struggles on writing, etc. But as a Trans Masc person who uses He/They pronouns, I struggle a lot with how to present myself. Sometimes I worry about not trying hard enough to be masculine and it doesn’t help when people comment on my makeup and even my body. So seeing Liz switch from femme to masc and the reactions from others, it hit close to home.

Just As You Are is a love letter not only to Pride & Prejudice but to queer culture as well, mainly Sapphic culture, which is something still so underrepresented. So if you love Austen and are queer, you will for sure love this book. 
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